Second Chances: SLUCare Joint Replacement

By age 50, Julie Binder's rheumatoid and osteoarthritis caused so much pain in her
hips that she couldn't ride a bicycle without limping for days afterward. "I was on
medications and had injections in the hip, but they weren't helping anymore," says
the Columbia, Illinois, resident. "If I rode, I'd be down for the count for quite
a while." After three years of waiting out the pain, Binder finally sought help from
SLUCare Orthopedics' joint replacement program. She had one hip replaced in 2012 and the other earlier this year. "The pain was
gone immediately," she says. "I didn't realize how much energy had gone into coping
with pain. Being freed from having to think about my hips was great."

Before undertaking the risks associated with surgery, we want to know we've tried
every other nonoperative measure.”

Binder is among the more than 1 million people who will have a hip or knee replaced
this year. Those joints, along with shoulders, are the ones most commonly replaced,
but the surgery also is available for smaller joints like ankles, wrists and even
knuckles. Replacement surgery is the option of last resort for people suffering from
severe joint pain, typically the result of arthritis or an injury, says Dr. Jeff Whiting of SLUCare Orthopedics' joint replacement program. "Before undertaking the risks
associated with surgery, we want to know we've tried every other nonoperative measure,
like weight loss, physical therapy and anti-inflammatory medicines. The majority of
patients who come to see us in the clinic don't go on to have a replacement."

Improvements in arthritis treatments have helped reduce the number of middle-aged
people needing joint replacements, and the procedure is now most common among people
in their 60s and 70s, Whiting says. "Implants wear better and last longer than ever
before," he notes. "Although we hope they will last 30 years, we try to get patients
as old as possible before replacement so the implant can last the rest of their lives."

These surgeries typically requires a two- to five-day hospital stay, Whiting says.
After surgery, patients use their new joints right away. Physical therapy starts in
the hospital and continues for one to three months afterward to improve range of motion
and strength. "Recovery times vary by individual," Whiting says. "It can take anywhere
from four to 12 weeks to get back to work and resume normal activities; healing fully
can take up to a year."

The thing we hear the most from patients is they wish they hadn't waited so long.”

Although joint replacement isn't a quick-and-easy fix, patients who've been through
it typically think it's worth the lengthy recovery, he says. "The thing we hear the
most from patients is they wish they hadn't waited so long," Whiting says. "Most patients
feel markedly better, and they can enjoy their lives again." Just a few months after
her second hip replacement, Binder is already able to do many of her favorite pre-arthritis
activities, including biking. "I wondered if I could ever ride again, but within two
months of my last surgery, I was on my bike." She is leaving soon for a six-day ride
across Mississippi. "It was always a dream trip, but I never thought I would be able
to do it. Now that both my hips are working, I have so much more energy to attack
life."

SLUCare Orthopedics' joint replacement program, located at 1031 Bellevue Ave., Ste.
280 A, offers specialized care for joint replacement surgery to help people with bone
disease and joint problems live with greater mobility and independence. For more information,
call 314-768-1050.